Pedestrian trucks with steering handle levers form part of a large group of industrial trucks. The handle lever consists of a handle lever tube or a handle lever rod and a handle lever head. The handle lever rod is articulated on a steering base about a horizontal axis and can be moved between a vertical position, in which simultaneously a brake is actuated via a suitable device, and a pivoted position relative thereto, in the latter the vehicle being steered driven. It is generally known to accommodate steering provisions on the handle lever head, such as for example actuation elements for the travelling drive and the lifting and lowering operation. It is also known from DE 196 07 976 to associate a force measuring device to the handle lever, which produces a voltage depending on the actuation direction of the handle lever and the pull or thrust force applied to the handle lever, which is transmitted to a controller to set the rotational direction and to produce a current for the drive motor torque. In this connection it is also known to arrange the force sensor, which is intended to measure the pull or push forces, between two movable parts of the handle lever, for example between the handle lever head and the handle lever rod.
It is also known from DE 197 38 586 to design a section connected to the handle lever head which is movable relative to the remaining handle lever rod and to provide between the movable sections a spring arrangement which holds the sections in a neutral position. Between the movable sections a sensor is further arranged which according to the extent of relative movement produces a signal for the motor control. The sensor is a path sensor and produces a signal dependent on the deflection of the handle lever head and which is transmitted to a position regulator which produces a set value for a current regulator which is compared to the actual current value of the motor to produce a control signal for the motor torque.
In the two disclosed drive controls or regulators a load-dependent, force-dependent or speed-dependent pull or push force control is possible at an ergonomically comfortable level. The operator feels as if a vehicle is being pulled or pushed without being driven. The operating forces are known to increase with increased load.
It is also known in industrial trucks operated by handle levers to provide auxiliary steering. A steering motor acts via a transmission on the steering base and thus on the steered wheel to facilitiate the handling of the vehicle, in particular for large loads.